Vikings Draft 2017: Final mock draft and Top-50 big board
By Jordan Reid
"With the 86th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings select Kareem Hunt, running back, Toledo."
Coming from a small-school, Hunt was a relatively unknown coming into the season. As draft season progressed, Hunt’s stock began to catch steam. In a deep running back class, he has surprisingly stood out among the second-tier group. Most have Leonard Fournette, Christian McCaffrey and Dalvin Cook as their top-three RBs on their boards, but the second and third-tier groups of this class are very good.
Hunt is in that next tier with Alvin Kamara, Samaje Perine, Marlon Mack, D’Onta Foreman, and Wayne Gallman. What makes Hunt worthy of a third-round selection. He is not a bell-cow rusher, but he is running back that can handle 20 carries a game without suffering a significant drop off.
My favorite #Toledo RB Kareem Hunt stat - only one fumble over 856 career touches (only fumble came as a freshman and he recovered it).
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) January 28, 2017
Drafting Hunt allows the Vikings to take full advantage of McKinnon’s skill set all over the field, while also still being able to have Murray in the backfield as well. The former Toledo rusher gives you 100 percent effort on every down. His ability to elude defenders, making them miss in space is exceptional.
The most eye-popping stat, posted by CBS draft analyst Dane Brugler, is that Hunt only fumbled once in 856 career carries, easily putting him atop the fumble rate in this deep running back class. Versatility is another aspect that Hunt routinely shows, as he recorded a career high 41 catches-for-403 yards last season, showing that he can be a huge factor in the passing game as well
Where Hunt needs to improve on is in pass protection. The effort is there, but his technique needs improvement. He has a bad habit of launching one shoulder into his target instead of using correct technique to square up defenders and use proper technique.